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In her letter, she told her son not to blame himself for her death but said she "can't cope" anymore.

"It's my life, the only people to blame are the government," she wrote.

Mr Bottrill said his mother was already struggling for money for food and clothes.

"They told her they would be taxing her for the two empty rooms," he said.

"She knew she would have to move out eventually, but I think it was how it just came totally just straight away."

He said he wanted the government to rethink its policy.

Steven Bottrill said losing his mother "felt like a dream"

"It might look like a good idea on paper but the way it's affecting people... I've lost my mum now and eventually it's going to be someone else so it's got to stop," he said.

"It's definitely down to them putting this law in because she would have still been here."

David Jamieson, leader of the Labour group on Solihull Council, said he was "horrified" when Mrs Bottrill's family told him what had happened.

He said: "It does not seem a lot of money if you have got a lot of money, but it's a lot if you have got very little, and £20 a week has clearly pushed her over the edge to the point she felt she had no other option but to take her own life."

The council had offered Mrs Bottrill another property to live in about six miles away and she was considering whether to move there at the time of her death.

But she feared she would be cut-off from her neighbours and family, her son said.

"The problem is for Solihull Council housing is that there aren't the houses available," he said.

"There just aren't enough becoming vacant."

'Trying to bring fairness'

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said it was not appropriate to comment on individual cases.

"The changes to housing benefit are trying to bring fairness to the system," he said.

"There are currently two million people on the housing waiting list."

Mrs Spelman said in her Meriden constituency some 16,000 people were on the waiting list for social housing, but said "nobody is being forced out".

She added the government had made £150m available to councils to provide discretionary payments to protect the most vulnerable.

Samaritans told BBC News "although a catalyst may appear to be obvious, suicide is seldom the result of a single factor or event and is likely to have several interrelated causes".

An event to look at housing across the West Midlands is being hosted by Wolverhampton City Council today.

The Local Government Association event is looking at "collaborative working in the region to address the housing challenge".

Speakers include Sir Michael Lyons (pictured), chairman of the English Cities Fund. You can follow the event via the Twitter hashtag #BuildingBritain and see more on Midlands Today at 18:30 on BBC One.

14:34:Bournemouth v WolvesBBC Sport

Wolves welcome back striker Kevin Doyle after he missed the 1-0 win at Cardiff for the birth of his daughter.

It was the third EDL rally in the town in the past five years and hundreds of police officers were drafted in.

13:45:Ex-manager dies aged 80Chris BlakemoreNews editor, BBC WM

The former Walsall and Blues manager Dave Mackay has died aged 80. He was the Saddlers boss from March 1977 to August 1978.

He was in charge at St Andrew's between 1989 and 1991.

Paul Franks will be speaking to his official biographer live on Drivetime today on BBC WM.

13:33:Mander Centre futureExpress and Star

The new owners of the city's Mander Centre, Benson Elliot, have said they want to change the face of shopping in the centre by getting rid of a perceived 'discount store mentality' as it looks ahead to a £25 million revamp. Read more.

13:22:Villa v West BromBBC Sport

Aston Villa's Ron Vlaar has completed a ban but is "touch and go" to face West Brom because of a calf injury.

Kieran Richardson and Aly Cissokho remain unavailable so Matt Lowton could again deputise at left-back.

West Brom boss Tony Pulis (pictured right) has fitness concerns over Saido Berahino and Brown Ideye, who both limped off against Southampton on Saturday with respective foot and knee injuries.

Det Con Mike Griffiths says: "From speaking to the boy's girlfriend we know that the couple first encountered the group of suspects outside the Tesco store on Chipperfield Road.

"The assault then took place by a bus stop outside Hodge Hill United Reformed Church and St Philip & St James Church on Coleshill Road. It was here that a bus passenger handed wet wipes to the boy's girlfriend prior to getting on to a bus and we hope that this person comes forward."

11:39:Heptathlete thanks tweeters

Following the Crimewatch appeal last night Kelly Sotherton tweets: Thank you to everyone who has retweeted or messaged me regarding the medals. It means a lot!

11:24:'I didn't need a mastectomy'Michelle DawesJournalist, BBC WM

This morning I've been speaking with Frances Perks, who had an unnecessary mastectomy at Spire Health Care.

She was told by a consultant in 2012 that all the operations she'd had she didn't need.

Ms Perks says: "I started seeing Ian Paterson in 1994 and saw him until 2010. He always told me my family was high risk and [I have] since found out that wasn't the case. It's had a dreadful effect on me and my family. I just never thought I'd be in this position."

We're speaking to women demonstrating outside the Spire Parkway hospital in Solihull. They were treated by Dr Ian Paterson, who operated unnecessarily on some women who'd seen him privately under the NHS.

The women will deliver an open letter to management at Spire Health Care - expressing their frustration at the slow reaction to their legal cases.

And our reporter Ben Sidwell is in Wolverhampton at a special conference looking at housing issues in the region.

BBC links

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